Less Than Blessed
by KayKayeLLe
Summary: FINISHED Finally find out why Mary came back home so suddenly.
1. Chapter 1

***Hello. I haven't posted I a long time. You guys seem to like this one so far, and I'm actually going to listen and attempt to fix the tenses. I've written about 6 stories in present tense and this was my first in past, so it takes some getting used to. Please bear with me.

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own or have any rights to 7th Heaven or any of these characters, except for the nameless doctor. Everything else belongs to the talented Brenda Hampton and Aaron Spelling.

**Less**** Than Blessed**

9:45 P.M., just as Reverend Eric Camden was about to go upstairs for his first early night in over two months, the kitchen telephone beside him rang. The phone rings constantly in this house, so thinking nothing of it, he answered it. 

He clicked on the "TALK" button on the phone. "Hello?" He said into the receiver, trying hard to keep from rudely yawning into the other person's ear.

"Reverend Camden?" the voice on the other end of the phone spoke.

"Yes, who is this?" he said displeased that the call was for him. He was ready to go to sleep for the night; it had been a tiring day to say the least. His face frowned to the extent that his eyebrows appeared to come together at a fixed point on his forehead. 

"Its Wilson- Wilson West."

"Oh hey Wilson," Eric said, sitting back down on the stool at the kitchen island, as his mood slightly brightened. At least this would not be church business he had to attend to. "I haven't heard from you in a while, over a year actually. How is little Billy?"

"Billy's fine sir, but- gosh how do I say this." Wilson said to the reverend sounding discomposed and flustered.

"Something tells me this isn't just a social call." Eric said getting a hollow feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"You're right Sir. There's been an accident."

"Who? What type of accident?" He said slightly raising his voice with newfound energy within him- energy he could have used at his meeting with Lou and Chandler early this morning. As he talked into the cordless telephone, Lucy and Kevin walked in from the back door. Both of them saw the expression on Reverend Camden's face and exchanged nervous glances. "Oh dear God, no." Eric said next, his face turning as white as the counter top before him. "But where are you? Oh, ok. I'll be right there." He hung up the phone, and stared blankly at the two twenty-something lovebirds in front of him.

"What's wrong Dad?" Lucy asked him.

"Mary's been in a car accident. She's in the hospital."

Lucy clutched Kevin's arm for physical and moral support. "Is she ok?" she asked apprehensively.

"Maybe, Wilson didn't really say." Eric answered her flatly.

"Wilson?" Lucy asked thinking she had heard her father wrong. As far as she knew, Wilson hadn't been around in over a year. Then again, no one had heard from Mary since she moved to Florida all the way back in September, and anything is possible with that Camden woman.

"Yes, Wilson. Come on, go get in the car. We're all going to the hospital."

Lucy nodded, and she and Kevin walked toward the back door as Eric walked up the kitchen stairs.

"Wait!" Lucy called out to Eric in retrospect. "Isn't Mary in Fort Lauderdale?"

"She was, but now she's here. She's at Bay General." He yelled back at her from the upstairs hallways above her head.

Four hours later, with no news on Mary's condition, the entire Camden Family was sitting in the emergency waiting room of the only hospital in GlenOak. Lucy was sitting next to her fiancé, officer Kevin Kinkirk. Her eyes were a little teary, but other that that she was OK- worried, but OK. She couldn't help but think of the old saying "no news is good news". Somehow, she knew that now was not one of those instances described in the old cliché. Kevin wrapped his arm around Lucy and she nuzzled into him. Kevin whispered for her to sleep, but she shrugged him off. Despite the fact that it was well past one o' clock in the morning, nearly two in fact, she refused to get any sleep until she found out if Mary was all right.

Lucy looked over at the rest of her family, all seated in the same row of chairs as her. Ruthie, who was seated next to Kevin, looked distressed. She had been tapping her foot nervously since she first sat down in that chair. Next to Ruthie was Simon, who appeared indifferent to the whole situation- either that or he didn't care. After Simon was David, then Sam, both asleep lying next to one another. They looked so adorable huddled up together like they were at that moment. Robbie sat beside the twins. He looked a little strange to Lucy. She couldn't tell whether he was sad or going to be sick. Nonetheless, he looked upset, at least on some level. Annie sat next to Robbie, and next to her was Eric. The couple was holding hands, both looking as if they were on the verge of tears. 

Lucy's eyes continued to wander around the dull room. She took notice of the imitation leather on the seats across from her, the beige colored walls, and the tile that looked like it solely belonged in a hospital. She looked around for something interesting to focus on, something to keep her mind off of everything, when she spotted Wilson in the corner. Sitting on the other side of the room, completely isolated from the Camdens, his head was in his hands. He could have even been crying, but Lucy wasn't quite sure. She couldn't see his face. Lucy kissed Kevin on the cheek, and then got up. She walked over to Wilson and sat down in the chair next to him. Wilson was so wrapped up in his own thoughts, though, that he didn't even notice she was there. Lucy put her hand on his back and he sat up.

"Hey," Lucy said quietly once he made eye contact with her.

"Hi Luce," he mumbled forlornly. 

"Are you OK?" she asked hoping to lend a hand. 

"When I find out she's OK then I'll be OK," he snaps back at her. Lucy doesn't mind, though, because the veracious look on his face told her that he was speaking from the heart.

"When did you guys get back together?" Lucy asked out of curiosity. "You and Mary are back together, right?"

Wilson nodded. "We've been together for almost six months now."

"Wow. It would have been nice if Mary had told me, or anyone else in the family for that matter, but still I'm happy for both of you. Personally, I think you both belong together. When she came home last winter she was so depressed without you. You were the only thing on her mind." Lucy told him plainly. "So you got back together in September then?" she then asked trying to change the conversation to a lighter tone.

"Yeah." There was a pause in the conversation as Wilson shifted nervously in his seat. "I really hope she's OK." He said looking away from Lucy and down at the floor. He couldn't talk about how he felt about Mary with anyone other than Mary, so whenever he even began to bring her up he avoided eye contact at all costs.

"Well you've been here longer than I have. Did they say anything to you?"

"Nothing except that she was in a car accident." He said letting out a frustrated sigh.

"Why is she here? - GlenOak I mean. Where is she staying?"

"We're staying with my parents."

"So did you two come to GlenOak together or something?"

"Yeah," he said.

"Oh." Lucy had about a thousand more questions to ask Wilson, but refrained from verbalizing them. Now was not the time to corner him about his relationship with the elusive Mary.

"Look Luce, I can't say anything." Wilson said, almost scaring Lucy. Was she that transparent? "Sorry. I've been sworn to secrecy by Mary."

"I understand."

Lucy leaned back in her chair as a forty-five year old doctor came out from behind the door. 

"Mr. West?" he said in a low, booming voice that seemed to shake the room.

Wilson stood up in front of the doctor. "How is she? Is she all right?"

"That would depend on your definition. She has a broken elbow and a broken finger. I'm sorry, but we had to cut her rings off of her, otherwise she would have never have been able to take them off. I have them though; I'll give them to you."

Eric and Annie stood up and walked over to where Wilson and the doctor were standing. "We are Mary's parents," they said.

"Well, as I was just telling Mr. West, Mary has a broken elbow and a broken finger. She also had a very deep gouge on her head, near her hairline, and had to have four stitches. Besides that, she's OK. We're going to keep her overnight just to keep an eye on her." All three of them let out sighs of relief, their minds eased that she was going to be fine. "Oh, and one more thing. She could possibly have a hairline fracture on her right shin, but as of right now we can't really tell. It probably is nothing, but if she does a lot of walking, it could very well turn into an extremely painful stress fracture. So she should avoid walking long distances, going to the mall, standing for long periods of time, things like that, for at least two weeks. If it starts to bother her though, she should stay off of it completely."

"Ok." Eric and Wilson said at the same trice.

"Can we see her?" Annie asked.

"Yes, but no more than two at a time and not for very long. She seemed very tired, and has good reason to be," the doctor told them frankly.

Annie and Eric nodded and walked back over to their family. Everyone crowded around them- Wilson hung behind. Overhearing most of the conversation with the doctor before, Lucy disregarded her parents' instructions momentarily and walked over to Wilson in attempts to include him with her family. Lucy figured that if Mary was the same person she was when she left, Wilson could end up part of their family one day, just as Kevin was about to.

"Your mother and I will go in first." Eric said. "Then, um, Ruthie and Simon, then Robbie I guess, then Lucy and Kevin, then Wilson can go in last so he can get the most time with her. OK?" Sounds of agreement filled the air.

"Actually," Lucy said above the rest, "I was hoping to go in to see Mary alone, if you don't mind."

"She's in no shape to have a conversation with you Luce." Her father retorted.

"I know, but if its all the same to you…"

"That's fine Lucy, as long as you promise not to be in there for too long. It's been a long day for you as well as Mary." Annie said and Lucy nodded.

Eric and Annie walked out of the waiting area and into Mary's room. The doctor told Mary before he left that he was going to talk to her family, so automatically she assumed they would be in there within five minutes. She rolled her head against the pillow as she heard them approach the door, and quickly closed her eyes. She heard her parents walk inside and the click of the doorknob closing behind them.

"Mary?" her mother whispered. Mary let out a low groan in response, not lifting her head from the hospital pillow. "Are you awake?"

"Mom?" She mumbled trying to seem as though she scarcely knew her current whereabouts.

"Its OK sweetie, its just me and Daddy." Eric and Annie walked closer to her, approaching the twin bed. Annie grabbed Mary's hand, which was sticking out form the pale blue linens that covered her battered body.

"How are you feeling?" Eric asked sympathetically looking down upon his daughter.

"Dizzy and exhausted," Mary said reaching up to touch her head.

"Dizzy? Do you want me to get the doctor? I'll go get the doctor." Annie said dropping Mary's hand and lunging towards the door.

"I told him and he said that that was normal since I hit my head on the steering wheel." She said in a low tone of voice barely audible to her parents.

"OK." Annie paused for a brief moment to take in her daughter's presence. It had been nearly six months since she saw her, and equally the same amount of time since speaking to Mary. "Your father and I are really glad that you're OK and that you weren't injured any worse than you were."

"As are your brothers and sisters." Eric adds, more for his wife's benefit than Mary's, trying to pull Annie back to reality.

Mary yawns loudly, dramatically covering her mouth. "We'll go now sweetie. We just wanted to make sure you were really OK."

"Goodnight," Eric told her. "You're exhausted, so we won't send your brothers and sisters in here. Get some sleep though. I love you."

"I love you too," Mary said. "And you too Mom." 

Eric and Annie bent down and kissed their daughter goodnight, and then vacated the hospital room as quickly as they had appeared. They reentered the waiting room and informed their children that Mary was too tired to see them tonight. Lucy was disappointed, but not as much as Wilson. His gaze dropped as he listened to the reverend speak. Thinking that he couldn't let the night pass without seeing Mary, Wilson decided to approach Eric. 

"Sir, could I talk to you for a second?"

"Sure Wilson," Eric said warmly. 

"I know you said that Mary's tired and everything, but I'd really _really _like to see her," he pleaded. 

"I don't know Wilson-"

"Please, ' he said seriously. "I'll be in and out in five minutes tops. And if she's asleep already I'll walk right out."

"Sure Wilson, go ahead. I just want to make sure she rests."

Wilson thanked Rev. Camden, grinning widely, and walked towards Mary's room. He opened the door silently, to avoid wouldn't disturb her, and poked his head in the door. He saw her tossing and tuning slightly, and could tell by her motions that she was still awake. 

"Hey sunshine," he whispered quietly as he entered the room.

"Wilson?" she said excitedly as she rolled over so the door was in her line of sight. She verified that it is indeed Wilson and grew confused. "I thought they only called my family."

"Honey we are family," he said as he reached the side of her bed. 

Mary smiled at his remark. How could she have forgotten? Thirteen days from now would be their six month wedding anniversary- exactly one week after her birthday. As she pondered if she hit her head hard enough to cause temporary memory loss, Wilson started questioning her.

"Are you OK?" he asked placing a hand on her soothingly.

Mary lifts her bandaged arm out from underneath the covers. "Does it look like I'm OK to you?"

Wilson stares at Mary's arm, almost completely covered by an off-white cast going from her wrist to three inches past her elbow. "Does it hurt?"

"It did, but then they gave me some pain killer stuff. Now I'm just dizzy." Mary studies her arm, tracing the outline of the cast with her eyes as she goes from one end of it to the other. She reached her hand and started to contemplate her fingers. "My rings!" she said nearly screaming in panic. "Where's my wedding ring? My engagement ring?"

Wilson swiftly pulls a small plastic baggie out of his jean pocket and lifted it up for her to see. "I have them," he said gently. "Don't worry."

Mary stared at them, squinting her eyes and holding her head. "Is there four pieces in there or am I just terribly overmedicated?"

They had to cut them off of you, otherwise they would be stuck on forever."

"So?" Mary said seriously. "They're my wedding rings. They should have asked me before they decided I wanted to part with them."

"Look," Wilson said, his husbandly instinct kicking in. "I'll get them fixed before your arm is better, don't you worry."

"Ok." Mary looked down at the bed. "I'm sorry.'

"You have nothing to be sorry about," Wilson said taking her unscathed hand in his. "_They_ should have asked you first. Blame _them_." Wilson smiled, as did Mary.

***To anyone who read this before, I am so sorry. I cannot believe I posted that. the mistakes on here were brutal- I wrote mart instead of Mary, an immortal sin in my book. Anyhoo, thanks for pointing out the mistakes you guys. Otherwise I would have never known.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thanks for all of the reviews. It really means a lot to me to get some feedback on these things I churn out. =)

Still in the hospital room, Wilson prepared for his departure. "Unbelievable," he thought. "The one time so far in our marriage that I have to be with her- she expects me to be with her, and I have to leave."

"Ok Mare," he finally said aloud, "you sleep now and I'll be back first thing in the morning. OK?"

"No, not OK. Can't you stay?"

"According to your father, no. He wants you to rest, and so do I. Would you actually get any sleep if I stayed here with you?" he said matter of factually.

"I don't think I'd be able to sleep without you. You know I hate hospitals Wilson."

"But I told your father I'd be out of here in five minutes," Wilson looked at his watch, "and it's been seven."

"Please Wilson," she said making a puppy dog face.

"But your father-"

"Will understand once we explain to him that we're married."

"And I am looking forward to that talk."

"Yeah, me too," Mary said sarcastically. "But don't try to change the subject. Will you stay?"

"Will you sleep?"

"Yes."

"Then yes."

"Good," Mary said snuggling into the bed getting comfortable. She pulls her good arm out from underneath the sheets and moves it toward him.

 "Just take my hand and I'll be out like a light in two minutes."

"Isn't that uncomfortable for you though?" Wilson asked pointing to the arm Mary had flung almost lifelessly over the side of the bed.

"A little bit, but I don't care. This is going to sound stupid, but I can't sleep unless my skin is touching yours."

"That explains your hands under my shirt every night." Mary smiles sheepishly at Wilson's realization. "Can you scoot over without hurting yourself?"

She moves over to one side of the small bed. "Why?"

He doesn't answer her with words, but by getting into the bed beside her.

"Thank you so much." She placed her scatheless arm at the hem of his shirt. "May I?"

"Sure," Wilson said smiling. 

Mary's face turned a pale shade of pink as she moved her hand under his long-sleeved shirt and positioned it suitably on his bare chest. She was true to her word, though, and was fast asleep before Wilson knew it. Soon after, Wilson followed her into a deep slumber. It had been a hectic night for the both of them, and they were eager to get some rest.

The next morning, Mary awakened to pain. Her whole body was sore. Her head was pounding like the speakers in a teenagers' car, and her elbow hurt so badly it was almost going numb.

"Guess the medication wore off," Mary mumbled, waking Wilson up with the diminutive sound.

"You're up," he said to her as he sat up. The slight motion on the bed caused her to scream out in pain. "What's wrong?"

"Don't move or you'll hurt me," she warned him. "My whole body aches."

"Are you OK? Do you want me to get someone? I'll get you help," he said frantically.

"No, I'll be all right. I think I'm just stiff. Maybe I should move a little." Mary sat upright, but winced in pain. "See, that wasn't so bad."

"If you say so," Wilson said smiling. "Is there anything I can do for you? Rub your muscles out or something?"

"No, I'll be all right." Wilson picked up Mary's hand. "How's Billy? Did you call?"

Wilson hit his head with his other hand. "I completely forgot. I was going to call my Aunt Jessica last night, but I was so worried about you it slipped my mind."

Mary nodded, but didn't say anything. Wilson noticed her being uncharacteristically distant.

"What's wrong now?"

"My family's going to hate me- us," she said pouting.

"Why? All we did is get married."

"Yeah, married without my father and without telling a soul."

"Well don't blame me. I offered to-"

"I know," Mary said cutting him off. "I'm not blaming you or anyone else," she told him, her eyes starting to tear up with the mere thought of her parents' reactions. She was perfectly content with going through life without telling them that they were married, but she knew that was a bad idea. She had finally decided to bite the bullet and come to GlenOak to tell them, but it still wasn't going to be easy.

Wilson wrapped his arms around Mary gently. She stared deep into his eyes and saw in them that everything was going to be all right in time. He leaned down and kissed her lips tenderly when the door swung open.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Lucy mumbled without even so much as half a foot in the door.

"Luce?" Mary said turning around.

"You're OK; I'm glad," she said walking over to the bed. "Good morning Wilson."

Wilson noticed the glares between sisters- each of them appeared to have a story to tell. "Hey Luce," he said, "could you sit with her for five minutes. I'll be right back." Wilson stood up and kissed the top of Mary's head.

"Make it ten," she whispered when he bent down. Wilson smiled and walked out the door.

The pair sat silently for quite some time. Seconds turned to minutes, minutes turned to hours, each passing tensely with the constant "tick-tock" of the clock above their heads. Mary was waiting for Lucy to make the first move, and Lucy was too angry at the moment to talk to her. Although Lucy had rehearsed in her mind several times the speech she would give Mary when she finally saw her, it had to be altered do to the setting. A hospital room isn't exactly the best place to tell someone off. Lucy concluded it didn't have the right ambiance for her too-harsh words.

"So…" Lucy finally got up the courage to say. "Long time no talk, huh? You know, it's so nice to see you again. When was the last time I saw you? Oh yes, I remember now, the night before you bolted without saying anything to us." Lucy said bitterly.

"Luce," Mary said with a quavering voice.

"Don't 'Luce' me," she said firmly. "You know, if Dad hadn't gone looking for Captain Smith, we would have never found out you left, would we have?"

Mary put he head down in shame as tears rolled down her cheek. Lucy noticed this and stopped herself. She knew she should have gone with a nicer approach.

"Look, I didn't mean to make you cry. I guess I'm just angry you left. You never returned any of my messages- I miss you."

"I'm sorry I didn't say good-bye. I just couldn't stand to be in GlenOak a day longer with Mom and Dad. They were driving me nuts."

"Well, I can understand that. When Kevin moved in, just looking at me told me they wanted me to get engaged right away- its what I'm supposed to do. And now that I'm engaged, they're pressuring me to get married sooner than I want to, and I can tell that as soon as I do that they're going to expect me to have kids," Lucy explained, finally letting her bottled emotions out.

"Whoa whoa whoa," Mary said throwing up her hands. "You're engaged?"

Lucy puts her left hand in the air waving a large diamond in front of Mary. "I tried to call and tell you, but you never called back."

"I've just been kind of busy. Uh…" Mary thought for a second, and then decided to just tell Lucy. "I have something to tell you. I was going to tell everyone together, that's why I'm back, but I wanted to tell you first. I owe you." Lucy's faced turned from aggravated to concerned as she waited upon Mary's news. "Wilson and I kind of, we, uh, we're married."

Lucy's jaw dropped. "Are you serious?" Mary nodded. "Wow. Well, congratulations I guess."

"Thanks," Mary responded warmly.

"For how long?"

"Five and a half months," Mary said apprehensively.

Lucy turned away from Mary. "I didn't know it took that long to get from wherever you are now back to GlenOak."

"We're living in Maryland. Wilson has an aunt there."

"That's nice," Lucy said cordially.

Mary furrowed her brow. "I'm confused. Are you mad at me or not?"

"I'm not _really_ mad- just a little." She verified.

Wilson walked back through the door and over to Lucy. He handed her a cup of coffee and then walked over to Mary.

"I didn't think you'd want any. You could have sip of mine though if you want."

"That's OK, but I know something else you can do for me." Mary said.

"What's that?" Wilson asks.

"Give us five more minutes."

Wilson kissed the top of Mary's head, smiled at Lucy, and headed for the door.

"Wilson," Lucy called out to him before he disappeared out of sight, "congratulations and welcome to the family."

Wilson smiled at Mary. "Thanks Luce," he said sincerely and walked out the door.

"So," Lucy said to Mary once the door closed, all of her usually perkiness now back. "Are you happy with him?"

"Well, he makes me **_very_** happy," Mary said turning tomato red.

Lucy smiled. "How did you know he was the right guy for you?"

"The way he looked at me- it just conveys how much he loves me through his eyes. There really wasn't something that told me 'yes, marry him'. I just could never picture myself happy with anyone else besides Wilson."

"But how did you know that your love- both of your love for each other, was going to last forever?"

"Well, let me tell you a story. On our honeymoon, after we, _you know_, I got this flood of emotions. I didn't really know what to make of them, so I just started crying. Not even crying- full out bawling." A smile came across Mary's face, and the pace of her words slowed to a crawl. "And he got all cute and started asking me if he hurt me, but I was crying too hard to answer. So he held me to him, and I felt so safe and so loved, and so happy. It felt so right."

"That's nice," Lucy said sweetly. "But I don't know if I have that with Kevin."

"You can," Mary replies, "and if that's what you want you will."

Lucy starts to tear up.

"I never thought I'd be this happy with my life. It's almost perfect," Mary said. "But any rate, if it's not Kevin who you belong with, you'll find your soul mate eventually. Just have faith."


	3. Chapter 3

Five weeks later, Lucy and Kevin were having a heavy make-out session in his apartment when there was an unexpected knock at the door. Reluctantly, they pulled away when they heard the sound. Kevin stood up, kissed Lucy one more time on the cheek, and then answered the door.

"Um, hello Kevin."

"Hi…"

Lucy heard the voice at the other side of the door and ran over, nearly knocking Kevin onto his backside. "Mary?"

"Luce?"

"Mary, what are you doing here? Where are Wilson and Billy?"

"Uh, back in Maryland," Mary said looking down at her yellowed tennis sneakers.

"Uh, I think I'll going to go into the house now," Kevin said as he walked down the stairs.

"Kevin, please don't tell them I'm here," Mary pleaded as he attempted to walk past her.

He nodded and left the two sisters alone in his apartment.

"Did you and Wilson have a fight or something?"

"No, nothing like that," Mary said dispelling Lucy's thoughts.

"I don't mean to be rude, but then why are you here?"

"I have to tell you something- you and the rest of the family."

"OK…but why couldn't you have just told us over the phone?" Mary suddenly started to cry. "What's wrong?" Mary just continued to sob and Lucy put her arms around her. After Mary eventually calmed down, Lucy looked at her strangely. "Why didn't Wilson come with you?"

Mary started to cry again. "I didn't tell him I was coming back here."

"Oh Mary," Lucy said in a low tone of voice. "Why didn't you tell him?"

"I'm not ready to talk about this yet; give me at least another hour or so, Luce, please."

Lucy could tell by the tone of Mary's voice that this was something big, maybe even life changing, that Mary was keeping inside her.

"Ok, um, are you staying?" Lucy asked her.

Mary nodded. "I'm leaving Saturday though. I should be ready to go back home by then."

Lucy really wanted to know what was going on with her, but didn't press Mary on it. "OK. So why don't you call Wilson first and tell him you're here, then go inside and tell the rest of the family."

"Ok," Mary agreed standing up, "but in reverse order."

"Jeez," Lucy said under her breath.

"What was that?" Mary said turning around.

"Nothing, its just that whatever it is has got to be bad if you'd rather see Mom and Dad than call Wilson."

"If you only knew," Mary whispered silently to herself as the two of them made their way to the Camden compound.

"Mary!" Annie said following a meek greeting from her daughter. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I was kind of hoping to camp out here until Saturday," Mary explains, being careful not to let the words "hide out" slip out of her mouth. "Can I? I'll take my old bed."

"Oh don't be silly," Annie said placing a hand on her daughter's shoulder comfortingly. "You and Wilson wouldn't both fit in that bed."

"Actually, Wilson didn't come with me," Mary told her mother.

Annie glanced at Lucy, who was standing beside Mary, for help. Lucy just shrugged. "Is everything OK with you two Mare?"

"I was just about to call him and find out," Mary said shifting her eyes from her mother to Lucy.

"Come on Mary," Lucy said taking her away from Annie. "I'll take you upstairs."

Once inside the bedroom, Mary picked up the phone. She could picture Wilson's reaction already; first he would be shocked, then enraged. Looking back, she should have at least hinted at coming here, but it was too late for anything like that. She carefully dialed her home telephone number, and listened attentively into the handset.

"Hello?" Wilson said after only one ring. Mary could tell by his voice that he was frantic.

"Wilson?"

"Mary? Where are you? It's past 8 o' clock."

"GlenOak."

"What?! What are you doing there?"

Mary had planned ahead for this question. Needless to say, it was a long plane ride to the other side of the country. "I'd been feeling really stressed lately and I missed my family."

"Well why didn't you tell me? We could have planned a trip or a day away or something Mare," Wilson said to her, all annoyance gone from his voice.

He was acting so sweet Mary couldn't lie to him anymore. She was going to spill her guts, happy that he wasn't at all angry with her, but caught herself just before she spoke.

"Look, Wilson, I have something to tell you- something important, but I can't tell you over the phone. I'm going home on Saturday at four. Could we plan to talk then?" she asked him hoping by then she would be ready to explain everything to him.

"Sure, I'll pick you up at the airport and have my aunt watch Billy so we can spend the whole night together- alone. How's that?"

"That'd be great. You're being so wonderful about all of this; thank you."

"Well, as long as you come home on Saturday, everything will be fine."

Mary smiled. "I'll definitely be home. I love you."

"With all my heart," Wilson countered, then hung up the phone. 

Mary stared blankly at Lucy sitting in front of her. "So, if you're not having problems with Wilson, then what is it?" Lucy pried.

"I'll tell you after," Mary said sounding exhausted.

"Oh my gosh, are you pregnant?"

"I wish…" Mary muddled. 

"What?" Lucy said.

"No, I'm not pregnant."

"Ok, is it something bad or something good?" Lucy asked Mary literally at the edge of her seat.

"Luce, I'm not 12, OK?"

"Oh," Lucy said quietly as her eyes darted down to the floor. "Ok."

"I'm sorry," Mary said getting up and sitting next to her. "I'm just so upset I don't know how to act anymore."

"You sure you don't want to just tell me whatever's wrong and get it over with?"

"Actually, I'm really tired. So I have to go to sleep."

"Sleep? Its ten past five. And what do you mean 'have'?"

Mary got up and went over to her bed. Turning down the covers, she smiled politely at Lucy before getting in.

"5:10!" Lucy screamed as only she could. "Can't we talk?"

"What do you ant to talk about?" she asked rolling over to face her younger sister.

"What's going on with you? I know something major is up. You wouldn't have come without a good reason."

"Later," Mary said rolling toward the wall. "Right now, I have to rest."

Hours later, Mary awoke to find only Ruthie in the room with her.

"Finally, you're up."

"What time is it?" Mary mumbled, still not fully awake.

"Quarter to ten."

"Really?" Mary asked sounding shocked.

Ruthie nodded.

"So, you know everything that's going on in this house. What have I missed?"

"First off, you missed dinner. Other than that, Simon went out on a date with Cecilia, the boys are asleep and so is mom, dad's working on Sunday's sermon, and Peter came over for me before."

"What about Lucy?"

"She went out with Kevin. She should be home soon."

"Oh, ok. Thanks Ruthie."

"Oh," Ruthie said sounding as though a thought just popped into her head, "I forgot the most important part. Wilson called. Don't worry though, I answered the phone."

"What did he say?"

"Well, he called to say good night, but I told him you were already asleep."

"That's not all he said is it?" Mary asked, knowing Wilson wouldn't hang up with such minimal information.

"He's really worried about you. And frankly, so am I."

"Frankly?" Mary said. "When did you start using words like that?"

"Don't try and change the subject." Ruthie said sternly. "Are you OK?"

Thankfully, Lucy walked through the door at that precise moment. 

In a split second decision, Mary was forced to choose one sister over the other in order to protect her secret. Ruthie could outwit anyone, even her parents, so she chose Lucy. "Hey Luce, want to go downstairs with me?"

"Um, OK," Lucy said, caught completely off guard.

Mary and Lucy ventured downstairs to the kitchen. Neither of them spoke a word- not wanting to say what they really were thinking. 

"Remember when we stayed down here all night when Matt got engaged?" Mary asked suddenly. Lucy nodded in reply. "I miss that."

"What, Matt getting engaged?" Lucy said smiling.

"No, us talking together. I mean, Wilson's great, but he'll never replace my best friend."

"Thanks." Lucy said sweetly. 

There was a long pause before Mary spoke again. "You know, if you really want me to tell you I will."

"Nope. I don't want to know."

"What?"

"I don't want to know. Kevin and I were talking tonight, and it's probably something bad. I don't want any bad news."

Mary smiled. "Ok then, you sure?"

"Yup. I don't want to know."

"Fine." Mary let out a heavy to sigh. "I'm going to call a family meeting tomorrow and break the news to everyone."

"Ok, well, good luck," she said Mary sympathetically. 

"Thanks," Mary said with wet eyes. "I think I'm going to need it."


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: From the last chapter, if you read it prior to now, I have a correction to make. The line: "No, us talking together. I mean, Wilson's great, but he'll never replace my **little sister**." – from when Mary and Lucy were talking in the kitchen at the end of the chapter should read:

"No, us talking together. I mean, Wilson's great, but he'll never replace my **best friend**."

Just keep that in mind when you read the end. : )  This is the last chapter to this story, and yes, you will find out why Mary's in GlenOak. I hope that the first couple of paragraphs aren't too confusing for you all. Thanks for reading my story and the great reviews!

Chapter 4 (Final Chapter):

The next day, Friday afternoon, the family meeting had just concluded. After Mary's big news was broken, no one really knew what to make of it. Everyone scattered into different parts of the house, trying to escape from the harsh reality that was just beginning to seep in. 

Simon was upstairs in his room. Just like when Mary was in the car accident before, he wasn't too fazed by the strange turn of events. Of course he was upset, who wouldn't be, but you would never be able to tell it by looking at him.  

Ruthie was in the kitchen talking with her father. She had wanted to go with upstairs and talk with Lucy, Mary, and her mother, but they kept her downstairs to avoid scaring her. Lucy was older, and was able to process the information. At that point, Eric was struggling through Ruthie's questions that blatantly showed she how innocently confused she was.

Robbie was the most upset by everything. He couldn't understand why he was so troubled by all of this, but the truth was it _did_ bother him, and he was going to hide it. He hadn't moved from his spot he had occupied before in the living room. After he replayed Mary telling the family her information over an over again in his mind, his concentration was broken with the sound of the doorbell. 

"Could somebody get that?" Eric yelled from the kitchen.

Robbie got up and opened the door. 

"Wilson? What are you doing here?"

"I came to see Mary. She is here, right?"

"Yeah," Robbie said rubbing his eyes, "she's upstairs talking with Lucy and Mrs. Camden."

"Robbie, are you OK?" Wilson inquired.

"Yeah, I'm all right I guess. Its just that Mary just told us."

"Told you what?"

"You know, about her having cancer."

"What?" Wilson said. His jaw dropped open so low Robbie could almost see down to his stomach.

"Didn't you know?" Robbie asked, sounding just as confused as Wilson was.

"She's upstairs, right?" He said not really answering Robbie's question. He nodded and Wilson bolted up the stairs. He banged on the stairs to the attic, startling the three women in the bedroom. He rushed to the door and flung it open.

"Wilson!" Mary said jumping up off the bed. "What are you doing here?" She ran over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. 

He tries to hug her back, but can't seem to find it inside of him. If what Robbie said was true, he was annoyed with her.

"We have to talk," he said to her firmly. 

"And we have to leave. Come on Luce," Mrs. Camden said to her daughter, ushering her out of the room. They closed the door behind them leaving Mary and Wilson alone in the room.

"Mare, I talked to Robbie. He answered the door," Wilson said seriously as he and Mary sat down on her bed.

"That's nice," Mary said, trying to avoid the subject.

"Mary, talk to me. Please. Tell me what's going on," he said sincerely. "I know something is wrong."

Mary looked down at her hands while tears rolled down her cheeks for about the hundredth time today. She had cried so much that her eyes stung. "I don't want to tell you," she said before sobbing.

Wilson placed his hands on Mary's waist and guided her onto his lap. She sat facing him, her face buried in his chest. "Mary, just tell me," he said to her soothingly. "Whatever it is, you'll get through it. I'll do whatever I can."

Her head jerked up suddenly, and she stared deep into Wilson's eyes. "You can't help me. I'm dying and there's nothing you can do," Mary said steadfast. "I was diagnosed with breast cancer two and a half weeks ago."

"Oh Mare, we'll-"

"Let me finish," She said austerely, cutting off Wilson. "When I went to the doctor after the car accident they found a lump…" Mary starts to sob.  "And I swear it's gotten bigger."

Wilson tried to stay as level headed as possible. It wasn't anywhere near easy, but he definitely gave it his best effort. "Well are they going to do something about it?"

Mary nodded. "They talked about surgery- removing it, but I don't know." Mary couldn't finish her thought. She put her head on Wilson's shoulder and he gently rubbed her back. "Wilson, I'm so sorry," Mary said while still crying.

"For what? None of this is your fault."

"For leaving you."

"You're not going anywhere," he told her sounding thoroughly convinced.

"The doctors only gave me a six to nine months maximum. Its really bad," she said snuggling closer into him. "They've already mentioned mastectomies and all that stuff and I can't deal with this right now. It's all too sudden. That's why I came here. I thought if I could get away from home I could just forget about it."

"Did it work?" Wilson asked.

"No. The only thing I kept thinking about the whole time was wanting to be with you."

Wilson smiled, which is a big effort considering the news he just received. "I knew something was wrong before you left, but I didn't know what so I didn't say anything. I guess I should have."

"I probably still wouldn't have told you," Mary said with honesty.

Wilson kissed Mary's forehead. "I love you," he whispered to her.

"Forever and ever," she said back with fear in her eyes. 

***

The next day, and exhausted Mary and Wilson traveled back home to Maryland. Mary quickly started a new experimental cancer treatment, using pills to kill the bad cancer cells and maintain the healthy ones. The cancer management went very well, and Mary was pronounced cancer free 8 months later. She and Wilson's relationship strengthen greatly while Mary was sick- he was always at her side day and night. Wilson is quickly climbing the ladder approaching Lucy's spot as Mary's best friend.


End file.
